Blue Beetle (2006) #1-6

Blue Beetle #1-6

Originally released in 2006

Written by Keith Giffen and John Rogers

Art by Cully Hammer (#1, 2, 4), Cynthia Martin (#3, 6), Duncan Rouleau (#5), and Kevin West (#6)

I looked at the early issues of Ted Kord's time as the Blue Beetle before, so now I'm going to take a look at Jaime Reyes's early issues.  Jaime was the version of the Blue Beetle that was focused on in the movie that was released towards the tail end of the DC Extended Universe's lifespan.  I thought the movie was pretty good - fairly formulaic at times, but an entertaining movie and a massive improvement over the divisive quality of the movies in DC's cinematic universe up until that point. (not top three in that universe for me, but at least top six)  I was curious to see how the comics would fare in comparison.

The series picks up in the middle of things, with Jaime being attacked by Guy Gardner on the very first page.  The Green Lantern Ring indicates that the Scarab is trouble, but once Jaime's face is revealed, Guy backs off - no matter what the Green Lantern Ring is saying he should do, Guy wouldn't hurt kids.

Jaime got his powers during the Infinite Crisis event.  I'm not 100% sure what that involves, though from the sounds of it, a satellite went rogue and tried to take over the Earth. (not sure if that's the Brother Eye satellite, the Justice League satellite headquarters, or both)  Upon returning to Earth, he believes that he's been gone for a day, but in reality, a whole year has passed.

Compared to the movie, the comic doesn't put a ton of emphasis on Jaime's family as of yet, though like in the movie, they almost immediately find out about his secret identity.  Not sure if that's common with Blue Beetles, or if it just happened to Ted and Jaime while Dan Garret maintained his secret identity.

Instead, the focus is on Jaime and his two friends, Paco and Brenda.  The two of them also know Jaime's identity, so he doesn't seem too concerned about who knows that he's the Blue Beetle within his social circle.

In terms of superhero cameos, there are a few others beyond Guy Gardner. Peacemaker makes a brief appearance setting up a future arc, though he'd be completely unrecognizable if I hadn't read the Sinestro Corps. War tie-in (the only hint to his identity is the dove from Peacemaker's logo tattooed on the back of his head), while Oracle (a.k.a. Barbara Gordon) contacts Jaime briefly.

The Phantom Stranger plays a relatively larger role, though he sticks to his habit of spouting cryptic comments and serving as a Deus Ex Machina when needed.  At least this issue clarifies that he plays a role in maintaining a balance within the magical side of DC, but I find it odd that he's used so often (relatively speaking; I haven't read many DC comics, but he's appeared in roughly four very different stories so far) when he seems like such a vaguely-defined character.

Over the course of the missing year, Brenda's abusive father passed away in a drunk driving incident, and she was adopted by her aunt who had always thought highly of her.  Meanwhile, Paco was drawn into a gang of magic users called "the Posse" - he doesn't have any powers, but they need people who have no magic powers to operate under suspicion.

The Posse is being targeted by a mysterious crime boss known as La Dama, and Blue Beetle winds up in her crosshairs as well.  She doesn't endear herself to him when she kidnaps a baby with strong magic potential, though they wind up at an impasse after the baby is saved and La Dama's initial plans are foiled.

There wasn't as much emphasis on Jaime's personal life as I was expecting, though maybe that gets brought up in later issues. His mother and sister didn't take the discovery of Jaime's identity well (his sister ran screaming from the house), though hopefully those fences are mended soon.

These issues had a different tone from the Blue Beetle movie, but I had a good time with reading them.  Despite starting in a way that might throw off newcomers, the story does take a step back to explain how Jaime encountered the Scarab. A Blue Beetle animated series is planned to be set in the new DC universe - by my understanding, many of the cast from the movie will be returning, though I'm curious if Jaime's friends will be incorporated into the story this time around.